Where in the world is Harry Potter?
by Gabriel Herrol
Summary: Dumbledore lost track of his saviour of the Wizarding world at the age of 6. A mysterious woman dressed in red was seen roaming the area for a while before Harry suddenly disappeared off the map. A mysterious and legendary thief baffling both Wizards and Muggles alike come back on the world scene after a long hiatus. "Now where in the world is Harry Potter?"
1. Prologue

**Where in the world is Harry Potter?**

 **Details of the challenge and Prologue**

 **HARRY SANDIEGO CHALLENGE by Whitetigerwolf**

 **Requirements:**

\- Harry is rescued from the Dursley's and raised by Carmen Sandiego. (For her own reasons)

\- Carmen must encourage Harry to learn and be intelligent.

\- Harry must develop a difficult/time-consuming/adventurous hobby while being raised by Carmen. (Examples in recommendations)

\- While Carmen can travel for heists (assuming she doesn't retire from crime to raise Harry, which is an option), she must have a central home (probably in a sparsely populated or non-extradition country) to raise Harry in. (He can travel with her, but the idea is that they still have a home)

\- Harry **CANNOT** be in an M/M relationship.

 **Recommended:**

\- FemHarry.

\- Carmen is a Witch, but she doesn't use her magic during her crimes because that would ruin the challenge.

\- Carmen somehow blood adopts Harry.

\- Wrong-Boy-Who-Lived.

\- Dog sledding as Harry's hobby.

\- Mountain climbing as Harry's hobby.

\- Computer hacking as Harry's hobby.

\- Sword use/training as Harry's hobby.

\- Lily lives and Carmen/Lily. (I'd suggest her being in a coma as the reason for Harry being placed with the Dursley's, but otherwise it's up to you)

\- Depending on WHEN you have Carmen rescue Harry, either Carmen/Ivy or Harry/Ivy.

\- Carmen and Harry having an ongoing riddle competition between them.

 **Author's notes:** _I was sincerely against starting a new story, really. I already have my hands full with my current works but while I was surfing the web mostly to cure my boredom and to let the ideas come around for the story I'm currently working on, I stumbled upon this challenge. I remember eagerly watching the Game show after school and I also always loved the theme song. So I decided to take it for a spin. Now I don't think I'll be able to follow all the different canons of the character._

 _A few things are recurring in all that I've read so far; Carmen is of Hispanic descent and grew up in the United States, in Chicago more precisely. She also mostly steals things for the thrill it gives her and is very intelligent. She also always wore a red trench coat and fedora hat. I'm going to add a few things in her repertoire, which is being a trained gymnast, an adherent of Parkour/free running, a master of disguise and being able to talk fluently many languages. Also while she's not found of violence, my incarnation will not hesitate to use it to protect what is the most precious to her when necessary. Now, it's time to get this show on the road. ^_^_

 **Last Edit: May 27 2017**

 **#4 Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey, July 31 1986**

A feminine figure was discreetly watching the cookie cutter house from the shadows across the street, clenching her fists so hard that had she not wore full leather gloves; her nails would have broken her skin by now. Here, in front of her on the other side of the street, weeding the flower beds without any gloves and exposed to the noon sun without any protection whatsoever was a little rag muffin of a boy. Short, skinny and almost sickly. He was dwarfed by the cast-off clothes he was wearing; they were almost like a Circus marquee! What the hell have those monsters done to her baby boy?

Then a male voice yelled something she didn't quite catch up due to the distance and the figure saw the little boy flinch, but quickly get up, wipe his dirty hands on his cast offs and hurrying inside after closing the door behind him.

It hadn't taken very long to find him, even with the old man' meddling. Dumbledore, she hoped that the Old Goat died in excruciating pain or choking on his shitty Lemon drops, had hidden him very well and closed almost all legal channels in both worlds that could be used to learn of this location. For a normal Witch or Wizard that is. But she wasn't without resources to go to for help in her Quest or rather her mantle wasn't. After all, who really could refuse anything to Carmen Sandiego, the greatest thief to have ever lived, a living legend, when she was applying some pressure? Carmen was a very persuasive kind of woman. If gold wouldn't untie some tongues, then magic or a good old 9mm pistol would do the job.

Lily Evans Potter had been declared mentally infirm, thus she could not take back her son legally, but the family mantle was now open after the last "Carmen" retired. If the legal way didn't work, well Carmen was known to have little care about laws anyway. Each and every "Carmen" took the name of the original to keep alive the myth she had created while wearing the trademark trench coat. Every last one of them had been a formidable Witch also. How else could they have escaped prison and pursuit as easily the rare times they were caught?

They had learned to be smart about it and did their best to not overuse their gifts. Take the now legendary red trench coat, the yellow turtle neck, grey skirt long black boots and fedora hat with a yellow band she currently wore as an example of a judicious use of magic.

The inner linings of each had multitudes of runes stitched to fan the flames of the myth, permitting each new woman taking the mantle to look exactly like the original down to the voice and accent, who was a woman of Hispanic descent, born and raised into the United States. Lily had even christened her taking of the mantle of Carmen Sandiego by stealing back her original wand from a memorial in her husband and her' honour inside the Ministry of Magic building and Harry's Trust Vault's key from the senile Headmaster's desk at Hogwarts Castle.

" _Impenetrable Wards_ " and " _Safest Place in Britain_ " her tight little arse! It was far too easy to break in! It was harder to break in the Hog's Head in Hogsmeade for God's sake! She loved Hagrid to bits as a friend, don't get her wrong, but the Half-Giant was far too easy to hoodwink, there was no challenge! She almost made it out with James' Invisibility Cloak too as a bonus but the old man's unexpected return to his office made her decide to cut her losses just to be safe and thus she ran away before risking getting caught.

It was far too early in the game to be sighted, but she left a business card under glamours that would fell down when she and her boy would be safely out of the country. The enchantments and runes upon her garb had kept the portraits in the dark about her presence. Now she understood somewhat why James and his band of miscreants had enjoyed it so much during their schooling. Shaking her head to chase her thoughts, she concentrated on her current objective, getting her son back.

She could reminisce to her leisure much later. She was here to take back her son, Dumbledore's plans and his wards to be damned! She was his mother; she had the legal rights to remove him from his current accommodations! Well, normally she would, but she wasn't going to tell her sister's family of her change of status. After all, she had everything ready for him in their new home.

Oh, it had been sheer torture for her to not rush to her son's side the second she woke up from her coma in Saint Mungo's, but she had to make every possible arrangement for a safe place to live for the both of them. Well, once she was fit enough to check herself out. She would never get caught again with her pants down metaphorically speaking like that Halloween night five years ago. Thus she had sought the services of Gringotts. The Goblins had been willing to help her with two conditions.

One, she was to swear an Unbreakable Vow to never target any of their Banks around the globe while she was "on the clock" so to speak and second, she was to abandon any current and/or future Heists in Egypt for as long as she was alive. A previous Carmen had really screwed them over during a joint project in an old tomb decades ago and the Goblins had long memory. While they weren't going to declare a blood feud with the new incarnation of the Best Thief of the World, it was understandable that they didn't want "Carmen Sandiego" anywhere near their Holdings ever again. She did swear and with that done, her preparations were well underway.

By the time Harry and she would be gone from the United Kingdom, everything she had put in place before approaching him would be ready. With a determined step, she crossed the street after making sure there were no cars coming from both directions, mentally commanding the magic camouflaging her to drop the invisibility and when she was near the door; she also dropped the glamours, showing her red hair and emerald green eyes. It was time for a little family reunion. When she was even nearer to the door, she then pressed the bell button a few times consecutively just for the hell of it. She had little time to wait before she heard a loud man voice said

"Wait one bloody minute! I'm coming! The nerve of people today, coming unannounced during meal time…"

There was no answer, but soon enough; the door was opened by her very fat brother-in-law. The years hadn't been kind on him, but Vernon held little to any meaning in her mind. So with a smirk the Marauders would have been proud of, she then said with a false sweet tone

"Hello Vernon. Long time no see. Did you miss me?"

Vernon Dursley prided himself to be the epitome of a normal British man. He had a steady job, a steady income, he was halfway done paying his mortgage, he had a good car, a wonderful wife and a son he couldn't be more proud of even if he tried. The only dark cloud in Vernon Dursley's bright sky was his wife's freakish nephew. Sometimes he wondered why they had even agreed to take him in at all. Sure, he had started to earn his keep last year, but all those strange and frankly _freakish_ incidents in the recent years was using what little patience he had for anything abnormal.

Sincerely, he was only just waiting for a good reason or an opportune moment to get rid of the Boy. Maybe he could drive him to an Orphanage or threw him out on the streets? It would be one less mouth to feed since that Dumbledore fellow never followed his promise to set up a monetary fund for the Boy's care. He was waiting for his food to be served since the Boy was currently cooking it, sitting at the table while reading the Sunday newspaper when he heard the bell ring. Usually he would have sent his freakish nephew to answer the door, but even he could understand that the brat couldn't do two different things at once.

Thus with lot of grumbling under his breath and not so under his breath, his got his enormous mass out of his chair and made his way to the door. Once it was open, it was at the sight of a woman dressed in red, with eerie familiar and luminescent green eyes and long, cascading auburn red hair from under the red fedora hat. It took a few seconds before the connection was made, but when it was, the man's outburst was heard everywhere in the house.

" **YOU!** You're Petunia's _freakish_ sister! The one who supposedly got blown up with her layabout _freakish_ husband! I will not have it! Get out of my house! _Your_ kind is not welcome here!"

While he tried to slam the door in her face, Lily was more than ready for it and with a simple application of wand-less magic, the door froze in its tracks. Like a vengeful spirit of old, she swept into the house without making a sound and suddenly there was something dangerous about her far too green gaze. _That_ something was enough to make a big man like Vernon, who was much taller and bigger than Lily, stop in his tracks; but the commotion had attracted the attention of everyone else in the house. Dudley even came out of his TV marathon to investigate what was going on.

Petunia, who was supervising her nephew while he was cooking on a stool with a hawk like gaze also went to see what the commotion was about, but not before ordering the boy with a hissing voice

"Don't you dare burn anything if you know what's good for you, Freak! One wrong move and you won't get anything to eat until tomorrow! Remember, we only need a single reason to lock you back into your cupboard!"

Having been locked in his room before on many occasions for even the slightest slights and innocent mistakes and not wanting to be deprived of food after all his hard work in the sun since this morning; Harry was quick to nod without a single sound. Aunt Petunia had said the other day that she hated to hear him talk without been given permission to do so first, so he had to be silent. After that, he put all his attention into not burning the sausages and potatoes.

Sometimes he felt that his life would be easier if both his aunt and uncle weren't giving him so many contradictory commands. But Harry had learned a long time ago to not ask questions, to keep to himself and do what he was told. That was the less painful road.

When Petunia arrived in the entry hall and saw her sister alive and in _that_ particular get up, she paled immensely. The last "Carmen Sandiego" had been their late father's cousin (Their father, a retired **SAS** Sergeant, had gone down fighting, taking sixteen magical terrorists down with him to give them all the time to escape the besieged house.) and she had been an occasional guest in their household when her "work" was bringing her in England.

At first Petunia and Lily had thought her tales of spectacular pursuits and evasions of the agents launched on her tail after impossible Heists were tall tales made up to entertain children, but they had soon found out that their aunt Carmen was telling the whole truth and nothing but the truth. So you can imagine the shock she got in seeing that seeing her sister alive after the Headmaster of that Freak school had told them she was dead and also seeing her in that "uniform", you could excuse her for completely losing her cool.

" _ **YOU**_! No, it's impossible! Completely impossible! The old man said in his letter that you were both dead! How dare _you_ come here in that _get up_?! I'm calling the police! You are an internationally wanted criminal! Get out of my house! You are dead, do you understand me? **YOU! ARE! DEAD!** Be gone Spirit! _Vade retro satana_!"

Lily, having to resort to use Occlumency to keep calm then said with a wry tone of voice

"Why, hello to you too my dear Tunie! It's been years since we last saw each other's! How are you? "

Pinching her nose, she sighted aloud and with a voice laced with magic, she ordered

"God, shut up the both of you! I'm not an incarnation of the Devil or a Ghost, Petunia."

The silencing charm now working, she then let out an audible relieved sigh and took back the parole with a rather fed up tone

"The rumours of my death were greatly exaggerated. Look, I don't care what the both of you think of me or of my _kind,_ as you so call them. I didn't come here for idle chit chat. I'm here for one thing and one thing only. Once I have what I want, you'll never see me again if I can help it. Now, can we have a civilized conversation or do I have to use more magic to make you both behave?"

Then Lily was rudely interrupted by what she call in the privacy of her mind, a pig in a wig but sadly, it was her nephew

"Hey, you said the "M" word! It's very bad! Mummy and Daddy says that it doesn't exist! I like your coat. I want it. Give it to me! I want the hat too! Gimme! Gimme right now!"

Lily rose an very unimpressed eyebrow at her nephew and told him flatly

"Young man, this is no way to talk to an adult. I am not giving you my coat or my hat either; I am very attached to them."

She decided to not bring the fact that the word "magic" seemed to be taboo in this household. But if Lily thought that Dudley would be placated by his newly revealed aunt's polite refusal, she was very wrong. In fact, the spoiled child didn't take the negative answer to his demand very well. The boy imitated his father by bringing his considerable mass upward and with an even louder and more obnoxious voice he yelled at the same time launching himself at her, hitting her with his meaty fists and feet in a temper tantrum

"They are mine! I saw them, I want them! Give them to me **RIGHT NOW**!"

Lily was very disappointed in how Petunia and Vernon had raised their son. Not only was he grossly overweight, he was also a spoiled brat who seemingly couldn't and wouldn't take "no" for an answer. Now things had degenerated so quickly that the new super thief felt that it would almost be better to stun all three Dursleys and simply run off with Harry.

There was a saying that said "No battle plan ever survives contact with the enemy", and while her initial plan failed, she still had a few recourses left. But too much magic would be picked up by the Ministry and Dumbledore would hear about it rather soon. But the situation resolved itself when her only son came out of the kitchen with his arms full of plates and said plates full of food.

As soon as the plates that Harry was carrying where put on the table; Dudley's attitude did a tree hundred sixty degrees. He stopped bawling and hitting Lily (With the protections woven into her trench-coat she had hardly felt anything) and ran as fast as he could to his spot at the table. Harry, having seen it coming, put a dozen steps of distance between his cousin and himself. Dudley would have bowled him over if he hadn't moved and then it would have been him who would have been punished for hurting "Precious Diddykins". While Harry was curious to know who the woman in red was, he had a job to do and if he wanted to actually eat something today other than one measly slice of bread, he intended to do it well.

When he was again gone to the kitchen to get another load of food, Lily, her bright green eyes now blazing with anger, whispering in a deadly tone, said to Petunia

"You had the gall to make him into your own live-in servant?! Where is your humanity, sister? I understand that you have a grudge against me, but to take it on my child? The only Freaks I see here are you both. I'm taking him away from here and pray God that I never come back; because if I do, I'm not sure if I'll be able to restrain myself. Before we leave, do you want to know something important Petunia? If our roles had been reversed and something had happened to both Vernon and you, I would have taken Dudley in and raised him like he was my own child. "

In the end, it took two more hours of tears, screams and explanations, but mother and son where now reunited for good and left #4 Privet Drive behind, hopefully forever. Taking her son in her arms and activating her camouflage, Lily and Harry were unseen and undetected when they apparated away from Suburbia Hell.

After a much needed trip to a private Healer who didn't ask questions so long as he was paid, Harry was put on a Potions regime to help undid his malnutrition and reinforce his brittle bones. He was a stone and a half too light for his age the poor dear! Then Lily brought him to another specialist who adjusted his glasses to the right prescription. She also would have wanted to get his famous scar checked since it shouldn't be still so red and fresh looking after all these years, but they needed to get out of the British Isles before Dumbledore wised up and closed his net on them.

Lily was still a greenhorn "Carmen Sandiego" after all. So it was better to not take too many chances until she had the experience to be as brazen as her predecessors. She was on the right track, but she would have to dedicate some time on it to really make progress. She was on her own for this though, it's not like the profession of professional thief came with a recommended mentor.

After a few pleasant nights in a posh hotel in central London and of course a solemn visit to James' grave in Godric's Hollow, mother and son, both with a whole new wardrobe, took a plane in direction of Costa Rica. Some sun would do her baby and herself a world of good. Funnily, everything Lily had set up since her self-checking out of Saint Mungo's once she awoke from her coma came to fruition when their plane was over the Atlantic Ocean, half way to their destination. Her Business card became visible in the Old Goat's desk drawer, the wards at #4 Privet Drive came to a cascading failure and every tracking spells on her son where dispelled.

Very frustrated by all these events and hitting brick walls after brick walls, Albus Dumbledore said to himself in his Office at Hogwarts

"Where in the world is Harry Potter?"


	2. Chapter 1

**Where in the world is Harry Potter?**

 **Chapter 1**

 **Author's notes:** _Well, I decided to work on this one for now since nothing was really jumping and waving his hand while repeating "Pick me!" over and over again. I'm glad that the prologue was a success, but I edited it a bit a few days ago to make it better in my opinion, so feel free to go re-read it. It's not compulsory to do so; it's still basically the same premises, just a tad better in my opinion. A little warning beforehand, while this Harry is bound to be quite smart, he has been trained to not show it lest he be punished for it with a few exceptions. It's going to take a while for Lily to undo everything and for Harry to take initiatives._

 _I'm also going to jump around a bit Harry's childhood with some judicious use of time skips, but you'll see him grow up anyway, so don't worry about it. So without further ado, let's take a look at the stats. We have_ _ **17**_ _Reviews,_ _ **133**_ _Followers,_ _ **120**_ _Favourites, already_ _ **9**_ _C2 Communities and_ _ **1 404**_ _views. Thank you everybody for your continued support. Ah just something else quick before I forget, I'm going with a Fanon version for James' parents, with Dorea Potter nee Black and Charles Potter. Now let's go to the story._

 **Last Edit: May 27, 2017.**

 **A nice and mostly quiet beach somewhere, Costa Rica, August 1986 (Harry Age 6)**

It has been a week and a half since Lily and Harry's arrival in Costa Rica and the redhead was already chanting mantras in her mind to not give into her murderous impulses to go back to Surrey and kill both her sister and brother-in-law. They had not just treated her son as a live-in servant. They had never showed him any sort of love! He grew up hearing every day that he was a burden, that he had to earn his keep if he wanted to eat and how grateful he should be that they, the Dursleys, decided to not throw him out on the streets to fend for himself since an orphanage was for _normal_ children, not for a _freak of nature_ like him.

After hearing that last bit, Lily felt the overwhelming desire to go Dark and pull a Bellatrix Lestrange on her sister and brother-in-law, but for her child's sake, she contained herself. The list of people who had wronged her family was getting longer and longer, much to her displeasure. And it would take a long time before everything was squared. But as much as she longed to put a hit on the Dursleys' heads, she just couldn't. Carmen Sandiego had never done such things and as Lily, she was needed to fix her almost broken beyond repairs child, not go on a crusade. Been in a comatose state for five long years could really fuck up the most carefully detailed plans.

She had also recently learned that Alice and Frank Longbottom were now permanent residents of the Janus Thickey Ward at Saint Mungo's after being tortured to insanity by the tree Lestranges and Barty Crouch Junior, Sirius had been framed for James's murder and their betrayal just after a psychological break happening at the very worst moment; by Pettigrew of all people! The Rat had faked his death and went into hiding after fleeing the scene in his rat form, thus Padfoot of the Marauders was shipped to Azkaban and couldn't take care of Harry as it has been planned beforehand.

Then the rest of her friends who were supposed to take guardianship of her son in case of something happening to James and her were either dead, had moved abroad to escape the war while they still could since the Ministry and the Freedom fighters were losing badly or were fed the line that Dumbledore knew what was best for the child by the Ministry and stopped trying to gain custody. Thus with everyone eligible to take care of her baby now out of the way legally, the Old Goat had no obstacle to do whatever he wished with the newly dubbed "Boy-Who-Lived." Morons, the lot of them! As if a toddler, even as powerful as her Harry was, could have defeated by himself a fully grown Dark Wizard!

What had saved her sweetheart's life was a specially orchestrated and designed ritualistic sacrifice, not some sort of nebulous power hidden in her child. Well, outside of his natural ability to apparate at will before he even learned how to walk that is. (James and she had to put anti-apparition wards all over the cottage to be able to keep up with him!) James' parents were slowly but surely dying. It was rather slow going but they would only have had a few years left anyway had they not decided to act like they did. Nobody was really sure what exactly the malady was. The best specialists around the globe had been completely stumped.

Their illness had been behaving similarly to a slow acting Cancer that was attacking the magical veins and arteries present in the body of a witch of wizard. The core acted like the heart, but in place of producing, pumping and distributing the blood, it produced raw magic for lack of a better term, pumping it into the pathways and distributing it all over the body. It was one of the reasons why the body of a magical could endure more trauma than the body of a non magical. While Charles had been in a much direr situation than Dorea, who could have likely recovered in time, they were both no longer Spring Chicken and too much in love with each others to live without the other.

And after escaping in extremis an attack led by Voldemort himself on Potter Manor, they felt that what remained of their magical powers and life forces would serve better in protecting their grandson's life than only surviving until their disease claimed them in the end. It was literally Charles and Dorea's Life Magic and souls who had shielded Harry from Death and made the Killing Curse rebound on the caster.

And it was an experimental runic array of her own invention cut into the floor of the nursery, hidden under the carpet, which drained enough of the power behind the Killing Curse to put her into a coma in place of killing her straight away. Her beloved James though, hadn't had even the chance to move into a zone where a hidden runic trap could have caught the Dark Wizard off guard. She had always absolutely refused to address that _thing_ as a Lord!

I mean, "Voldemort", it stink of a nom de guerre! Seriously, what mother would call her child by that name? Both her husband and she were not naive even if they were still young, they had did everything in their power to live another day. They were both heavily involved in a bloody Civil War after all. They hadn't relied only on the Fidelius charm to ensure their safety. It would have been a very foolish thing to do!

But now wasn't the time to think about the past. She had her Harry back and she was sure that James was watching over them from beyond the Veil. Lily had to be strong and upbeat for Harry's sake. Right now they were on a sparsely populated beach, sitting on the sand near enough to see the waves of the ocean but far enough to not be dragged into the water. Wearing a rather plain navy blue two pieces swimsuit (she usually would wear something more flattering but now she needed no distractions from her role of mother), she was teaching her child how to build a sand castle. Well, first she had to make him understand that it was alright to not work on chores almost non-stop from seven in the morning to eight in the evening.

She then explained to her boy in a soft voice, since he was still flinching when she was talking too loudly when he was near

"You see Harry? You take some sand with this shovel here and then put it in the bucket. When the bucket is full and the sand compacted enough, you then turn it around after putting it on the ground."

Harry, on the other hand, was trying to understand what exactly it would accomplish doing what his mother was telling him to do but having been conditioned to obey without questions; he only nodded and did as he was told in silence. Vernon and Petunia had always been extremely careful to never hurt him physically or at least never in a way that would leave permanent marks. They hadn't need to; the fact was the cutting comments were hurting him harder than any punches or slaps.

Withholding water rations, food and toilet breaks had been Petunia and Vernon's way to make him obey. Being Dudley's punching bag was perfectly acceptable though. Boys tended to roughhouse often after all. They were too young to be held responsible for their actions. Boys would be boys after all.

Lily had to hold in a sigh after seeing her boy obey the instructions without saying anything. Things weren't going as planned at all. Her beautiful son was only following what she told him to do and not taking any fun at all into doing mundane things. Deciding to try another way, she asked him curiously

"Harry, what would you usually do in your free time when you were not in school?"

He answered promptly but without really any emotion in his voice

"When I wasn't doing my chores, I would usually do my homework or study ahead for the oncoming tests. Aunt Petunia said that if I was doomed to be a Freak like my no good parents, at least I should be an _e-du-ca-ted_ one, and then maybe I'll amount to something useful one day. Dudley also wanted me to do his homework for him since he couldn't be bothered, but Aunt Petunia always refused."

He said with some difficulty before continuing

"I was to do my utmost best to get the highest grades possible in every subject that mattered. Uncle Vernon didn't like it very much that I would get much better grades than Dudley, but Aunt Petunia told him that if I had very good grades, that I could get into a good boarding school and be away from the house for months. That was enough to convince him to let me do my best at school and to tell Dudley and his gang to not damage my school things."

Lily really didn't know what to answer to that. Her wonderful baby boy was worked like a Labourer similar as to how the Black people were treated just after slavery was banned in the United States; but was still expected to obtain the best grades possible to gain a chance to get into a good boarding school. And what sort of tales her sister had filled her son's head about his parents? Sure, James and she weren't perfect. Far from it, but who was? Petunia had really became screwed up and twisted these last few years. The redhead knew that it would be an uphill battle to heal her boy, but she hadn't expected what she had in front of her. There was something she had to change right away though.

After taking a fortifying breath and pinching her nose to stave an incoming headache, Lily then said with a soft but still firm voice

"Sweetheart, listen to me please. You never were and **never will be** a _freak_. Can you stop using that word please? Just for me? Petunia and Vernon were very wrong in treating you the way they did. It is their faults, not yours. Your father was a good man, my Harry. He wasn't perfect, but nobody on this Earth is. I'm so very sorry I wasn't there to take care of you these last few years. But after the bad man killed your father and tried to kill you, I fell very ill and I only got better a little while ago. Magic can be very tricky sometimes.

I swear, as long as you live with me, you will only have a few designated chores; like the cleaning of your room, making your bed, putting your dirty clothes in the hamper or putting the dirty dishes in the sink. Those are normal chores that growing children can be expected to do. No more cleaning the house from top to bottom alone and especially no more extravagant list of chores expected to be completed during the day. It's a promise of a lifetime."

Luminescent emerald green eyes met their twin while the boy peered at his mother, trying to gauge if she was telling him the truth. While he wanted to trust her, Harry had been burned before and it had hurt for a long time. It was thus understandable that he was wary. He had spilled the beans to the School Councillor about his home life and the second the woman had started to make noises about having him removed from the Dursleys' care, she was fired with extreme prejudice, blacklisted and forced to relocate on the other side of the country. Needless to say that Harry had been in for a very rough time at #4 Privet Drive for quite a while following those events. Vernon and Petunia hadn't liked having someone with potential to make trouble poking their nose in their private lives…

But this time, it was _different_. That woman in front of him was his _**mother**_ , she had told him that she loved him and she had _finally_ explained also what was making him so different from the others! He was a Wizard and she, a Witch. Magic was real and the Magic Users had a whole society hiding in the cracks and shadows of the one he knew. There were also panoply of magical creatures and just like regular animals; some were benign while others were dangerous. And also, just like regular people, there were good Wizards and bad Wizards. Sincerely, it was overwhelming.

 **Kay la avanti** **(** _It_ _roughly means "House of adventure" in Haitian Creole. Yes, it was Harry who named the house *amused chuckle*)_ **,** **Tortuga, Haiti, Caribbean Sea, May 15** **th** **1988 (Harry age 8)**

In the end, they stayed two years and a half in Costa Rica getting to know each other's and healing before moving. Dumbledore hadn't gave up in trying to find Harry with the intent to send him back to the Dursleys' care and his feelers were starting to get too close for comfort in Lily's mind. Thus they had closed shop so to speak and moved north-east into the Caribbean, more precisely in a nice and discreet house on Tortuga. Most of those years had been used to heal Harry physically and mentally and also putting her back into shape.

Now that they were both completely healthy and that the training inflicted upon him by their relatives was shattered, Harry showed that he was his own person. There was a bit of his father's mischievousness, what with his failed tentative to spike her favourite shampoo with hair dye and also some of her own thirst of knowledge. Her beloved son loved reading as much as he loved playing outside with the neighbourhood children.

Magic was very useful in helping people learn new languages. While English was more or less well represented in the big cities where the tourists went more often in Costa Rica, both Harry and Lily had felt early on that learning Spanish was a must to learn for communicating with the more isolated communities and later on a few weeks before moving, Haitian Creole. Learning new languages was an advantage that should not be squandered. The kid took to them faster than Lily, which wasn't really surprising since children learned quicker than adults. She had to be on her guard though, Harry was still trying to get some swear words pass her screening of what was acceptable or not for his age.

While Lily would have loved to go make her mark as the next Carmen Sandiego now that she had learned the ins and outs of what her magic coupled with the enchantments on her "uniform" were capable of, she wished to wait until her boy was old enough to look after himself for a while. Or if the occasion presented itself, wait to find someone reliable to babysit him before she went gallivanting around the globe pissing off important people and Law Enforcement Agencies alike before disappearing without traces with her loot. When Harry would be old enough, maybe she could take him as an apprentice? Arsène Lupin could make his come-back…

But while she wasn't going to travel around the world pulling reality defying heists just yet, she was still working on some pet projects behind the scenes. After all, Harry would need a few male influences in his life sooner or later and who would be better than the rest of the Marauders, his late father's best friends? She had orchestrated Sirius' " _miraculous_ " breakout of Azkaban Prison and was now just getting things ready for the "kidnapping" of Remus. She wasn't sure if Padfoot would like how she would make him clear customs and escape the MLE Agents that would be on his ass though…But it was a way that would even fool Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody in person.

As payback for abandoning her baby to Hagrid of all people, (she loved the Hogwarts' Groundskeeper to bits, but she would never have let him take care of a child, much less her own) on her strict instructions, one of her "associates" would slip him an enchanted collar that would forcefully keep him in his dog form with an added illusion spelled into said collar fooling anybody looking that he was healthy. (After all no chartered commercial flights would carry a clearly sick or emaciated animal in fear of releasing unknown maladies on another country)

And after bribing a Muggleborn Vet in needs of funds to sign the necessary papers and forget he ever saw the Dog Animagus, she would have him come to Haiti by cargo plane. Said cargo plane would be scheduled to land on a strip at the Cap-Haïtien International Airport since it was closer to Tortuga. For Remus, it had been decided to go with Harry's plan.

"Mum we could just sign Remus up for a cruise of leisure around the Caribbean on a big ship no? Something like a won contest with all expenses paid. We also schedule everything as needed to avoid a possible transformation at the full moon in front of regular people. And when he's at a stop in the cruise, we have a group of Heavies that we can thrust to kidnap him and bring him here or drop him at a previously arranged rendezvous point. One where we can exchange the hostage for money or maybe someone could pay the Heavies for us and then drop one of the teleporting thingies on him."

It was over complicated, pricey and had many chances of things turning sour in a drop of a hat but she was certain that the soft spoken man would love to see them again one way or another. As to why she was indulging her son into such a hair brained scheme? Well, she had to help Remus to get out of his funk caused by James' death and to be honest, a cruise with full of scantily dressed girls followed by an adventure full of adrenaline fuelled moments would give him that.

While as the new "Carmen" she hadn't yet gone on any Heists herself, Lily had renewed the previous one's Information network by sending them loads of funds to pay them to gather any information susceptible to be useful and send it back to her via the revived network. In the Underworld, be it magical or mundane, there was rarely a problem that couldn't be solved with enough spot cash, jewels or gold.

Usually such a stratagem she was intending to pull with Sirius would have likely been discovered in other more forward countries such as Australia, Russia or maybe even the United States. But in the country of Haiti, the local magical population was lower than many other countries. And thus their Auror force was rather small too, thus easier to circumvent. Anything overtly magical and/or dangerous would be detected and promptly dealt with, but a dog Animagus masquerading as a real dog with suppression collar around the neck passing through Muggle customs? It should be overlooked. If not, she would use the Pureblood solution. That is throwing money at the problem until it was no longer one.

While Lily had decided to live with her son like middle class citizens, the Potter monies were under competent management by the Goblins and with her instructions to invest into the Muggle world also, their earnings were refilling the vaults faster than she could spend. And to be certain that no one but Harry and she had access to their vaults, Lily had removed every access given to the Old Goat on their accounts by her husband during the war. She was not going to give that man one more Knut that he could use in his efforts to track them down. She would also take Harry with her at Port-au-Prince's Magical Alley while going to talk business at Gringotts to get things started to bring Remus into the fold.

It was also the perfect occasion to have a second opinion by professionals on his curse scar now that he was more at ease with magic. The healer that had given her boy his potions regimens hadn't possessed the necessary knowledge and/or the skills to do anything about getting rid of it. Once there, she could also check on Sirius' journey, seeing as it had already been a week since she had him extracted from Azkaban.

Once again, Lily felt very disappointed in her fellow magicals. Inescapable prison her tight little arse! First she had found out that Hogwarts' wards were a joke and now infiltrating Azkaban Maximum Security Prison and then leaving with a prisoner in the Maximum Security Wing was a walk in the park for a well trained Muggle mercenary unit? Hopefully the wards of Gringotts would be up to snuff.

Oh, she had absolutely no intention of visiting the Bank during her job hours; it would lead to a broken oath and many difficulties. But maybe she could offer her services to test their defences and to see where there's need of improvement? It would help her deal with the one set-back of taking Carmen Sandiego's mantle. Always feeling the need to look for the next big adrenaline rush…

Back to the Azkaban situation, all she had to do to get her deceased husband's best friend out was to hire a group of professional mercenaries in the know about the Magical World, supply them with medallions charmed in a similar way of the enchantments on her "uniform" permitting them to see past Muggle repelling wards and be invisible to the Dementors and told them that she wanted Sirius Black out of there, alive and in one piece. She didn't care one iota about any collateral damage to the fortress or any looting they did on the side.

She wanted her son's Godfather out of that hellhole pronto. Lily had also instructed them to not kill the human guards if they could afford it but to not risk their lives either if they were caught in a bad situation. One hundred thousand Pounds sterling with half the payment up front and the rest once Black would be on the plane and said plane safely in the sky, would be wired in their account. It was a bit expensive for the job, but she had wanted the best there was on the market.

In Lily's mind, Azkaban Prison was like the Titanic. That ship was seen as unsinkable until its fated collision with an Iceberg in the Northern Atlantic. Azkaban was seen as impossible to escape by the British Wizards only because **nobody** had succeeded before. Due to this misconception, there was actually no law in the books against escaping from Azkaban Prison. She knew since she had an informant check for her, just in case she had to tell her employees to be more ruthless during Sirius' extraction to make it believe it was a kidnapping and not a jail break.

Coming out of her musings all the while sitting on a lounge chair in the shade of the balcony, she saw Harry and the neighbours' kids horsing around the back yard, playing imaginary games and whatnot. Lily couldn't be happier if she tried. Her son was healthy and was learning to be a child. His previous trauma was soon to be a thing of the past. Sipping water from her glass (it was a tropical climate after all, thus she had to drink often to stay hydrated and she was also wearing a hat like her son) she decided to let them play a bit more before calling Harry to get ready for their visit at Gringotts Port-Au-Prince.

 **Between May to August 3th 1988, From Great Britain to Florida, USA to Nassau, Bahamas to Havana, Cuba to Potter Home, Tortuga, Haiti, Caribbean Sea. (Harry age 9)**

Remus Lupin was a man who had a very developed patience. He had to, since he had to be the voice of reason in his group of friends at school. But he had thought that his days filled with adventures and insanity of all sort where over now, since he had graduated years ago. James and Peter were dead, Lily was in a seemingly irreversible coma (he had absolutely no idea why everybody thought she was dead when she was clearly still alive) Sirius was in Azkaban where he belonged (May the traitor rot) and Harry was in Petunia's care.

He had tried to visit many times, but the wards that had been put around Privet Drive wouldn't let him nearer than the end of the street. Somehow, the magic of the wards kept even muggle post addressed to the boy from reaching him and also filtered his phone calls! Being the more Muggle-savvy of the Marauders, Remus also knew that trying to visit Harry at school without a clear link to his guardians and permission was to call trouble on himself.

He had absolutely no intention of entering the Muggle prison system. As a Werewolf, the Obliviators would charge him through the nose to bail him out of there. Also any breaches of the Statute of Secrecy would end up on his head, no matter if the fault lied on somebody else. The Ministry of Magic for Great Britain and Northern Ireland was very anti Magical creatures.

But now, the very patience he had to develop as a pre-teen was now strained and badly at that. Why you ask? Let him resume his situation. After working as a night shift only security guard for some warehouses down on the docks and going to Gringotts to get some of his very last pay changed into Wizarding currency, Remus had the surprise of his life. Someone had deposited in his vault ten thousand galleons! And the surprise hadn't ended here.

By supposedly being the millionth customer to enter the Bank this month, he had won a leisure cruise aboard a Luxury Cruiser, all expenses paid, on the Caribbean Sea. The Plane ticket for the flight from Heathrow to Miami International Airport, Florida, USA was even included in the packet. Remus couldn't say no, since he was now out of job seeing as his last gig was just temporary. He had nothing else to do anyway. His first clue that it was a set-up should have been the one-way plane ticket, but in his excitement of seeing his luck turn around, he had overlooked that detail…

"After all, what the worse could happen?"

Remus should have known it was way too good to be true. Tempting Fate and/or Murphy like that, he really should have known better. But he had been blinded by his apparent good fortune. After the Goblins had obtained for him in exchange for a fee the necessary documents and passport for International Muggle air travel, he had been flown in the First Class area of the plane. The Cruise ship would leave from Miami to Nassau, then in the true Caribbean per see. When the plane touched down and has passed customs without any problems, he hailed a cab to the nearest hotel so he could crash. He had a few days before the ship would leave, so he could get used to the new time zone.

The cruise itself was marvellous and the ship was a marvel of engineering. He also had no fear of being caught transforming since the full moon was weeks away. With the Galleons he had received into his vault (It had been bittersweet, yes he could finally afford new and decent clothes, but at the price of one of his best friend's life, since it was bequeathed to him from James' Will. The Goblins wouldn't tell him why the Will was only probated now and he wasn't dumb enough to insist) he had a cushion to fall on in case things turned sour.

The food and the drinks had been exquisite, the weather a charm and the sights, the sights! Innumerable scantily clad women galore! He even managed to score a few one night stands! With proper protection of course! As if he would risk passing his curse like that! Remus honestly wasn't sure if Lycanthropy could be genetically inherited, but he didn't want to take chances. So he had stocked himself with condoms at the ship's pharmacy.

Remus had thought he was rusty from his school days and even then he had never being much of a womanizer, unlike Sirius who had been _**THE**_ skirt-chaser of Gryffindor House. James had been a smooth talker, but was too fixated on Lily to seriously try to get into other girls' knickers at school. Also there were encounters with a few packs of Dolphins, Killer Whales and even some Humpback Whales! The first stop at Nassau was nice. Remus had to admit that doing the tourist thing was not so bad after all. But his luck changed during a stop in Havana in Cuba. The ship would stay moored for three days to permit the staff to reload as needed and let the passengers explore the city.

Remus had been seduced by a pretty little thing, about in her mid twenties after she had approached him at the bar he went to have a drink to before returning to his cabin aboard the ship. It turned out that she was a Witch and an Animagus on top of that. Since her animal half gave her better senses, she had smelled the trace of the Wolf on him. But contrary to his fears, she hadn't run away as far as she could as many others women had done.

Oh no, the Latina had redoubled her flirting. It turned out that she had had a previous boyfriend who also was a lycanthrope and she had enjoyed the perks of a greater physical strength and stamina until they found out that the spark was just gone and parted amicably.

After so many drinks and many obvious hints, the now named Valentina had decided to bring him to her flat. Now, normally Remus was sharper than that. Being a Werewolf had a few advantages; one of them was an increased metabolism. It usually took far more than what he had drank tonight to be as intoxicated as he currently was. But the Miss Valentina was a professional seductress and with a very juicy contract to "acquire" Remus John Lupin alive and healthy floating around the Underworld, she had taken her chance. A mix of alcohol, magically enhanced pheromones and her own natural charms had the older man became literally putty in her hands.

It also helped greatly that she was naturally gorgeous, with chocolate brown eyes, mahogany coloured hair and had curves that would damn a Saint. Any straight man, no matter if they were single or not, _**would**_ leer at her at least a few seconds. Valentina was not a prostitute though. She teased and implied, but never slept with her customers or marks when on the job. Often she was hired as arm candy by powerful men for some public function or another.

She was also very talented in Potions and had even made a few modifications to generic ones to make them more powerful. This was how she had managed to put Remus under after serving him a few fingers of brandy; by slipping just enough of her home made "remedy" and mixing it with the alcohol in the glass. Her previous Lycanthrope boyfriend had been the willing lab rat since if anaesthetics could work on Weres, they could be treated easier since their advanced metabolism burned most potions without an immediate effect too fast for them to act.

Just before going under and between cursing himself for falling for a pretty face and a great pair of tits, Remus heard Valentina's sexy voice tell him with her Spanish accent in English

"Have a nice trip Señor Lupin…"

The next few days were literally a blur for Remus. He had woken up a few times, enough to see that he was under the care of a few rough looking men. He guessed they were likely natives of another country since they were all Afro-Americans. But at the second he was starting to get his mobility back, one of the thugs would blow a tranquilizer dart with a homemade blowgun in his neck, which had for effect of making him go under once more after a few slow but ignored protests. Remus had conscience of being manhandled and that his captors were arguing often in a language he wasn't sure he understood. It sounded like a variant of French but not the one he was used to…

When he came out of it next, he was sat on a plain plastic chair in front of a desk, the type that was often seen in modern schools. The desk itself was nothing special, one of the generic ones you could find in any muggle office buildings. But what kept his attention, was the woman who sat on the other side of the desk. She was rather tall, clearly of Hispanic descent, with striking blue eyes and shoulder length auburn hair. But what was ringing alarms in his head was her attire. A red trench coat, a yellow turtle neck, a grey skirt, long black boots and a red fedora hat with a yellow band to finish the attire.

An amused smirk on her kissable lips told him she was rather amused to have been recognized. Black leather gloves also completed the outfit she was wearing as they were in plain view on the desk. While Remus had never seen the woman before, she was quite (in) famous in many circles. Circles he was sadly very familiar with, what with his affliction, he often had to work on the wrong side of the law to manage to gain enough money for food and lodgings.

Carmen, for she was totally in her role for now, was having great fun watching the former Marauder trying and falling to not squirm in his chair. But she couldn't stay away long. Who know what mischief her son would invent during his time alone? The magic of her uniform covering her British accent, thus preserving her disguise and changing it for a West Coast American accent, she then said with clear amusement in her voice and eyes

"Welcome back to the waking world Mr. Lupin. A word of the wise for the future, do not accept any alcoholic drinks from a strange woman in an unknown bar; especially if the previously mentioned woman in question is wearing a sexy cocktail dress and is trying to seduce you. Who know what she could put in your glass?"

Remus might be embarrassed and mad at himself and at Valentina, but it was no reason to antagonize Carmen Sandiego, the best thief in the entire world. He might not have much worth to be stolen, but should he really tempt Fate again so soon after the last time? Rather upset at having being abducted and being lectured like a school kid, he said a bit harshly but still politely

"Please mind your own business, Miss Sandiego. I do not need to take lessons from an internationally wanted criminal. Now what do you want from me? A person of your stature and reputation would not waste her time with a random British Wizard. "

The Werewolf was trying to take back the reins of the conversation, to stir it to a subject he would be more comfortable with. Unfortunately for him, Carmen was not as easily deterred. She was quick to answer his snappish comment with some teasing of her own though.

"Oh? Did I touch a nerve? I may be wearing red and you may be a Big Bad Wolf, but I'm not the little Red Riding Hood whom you can try to eat. I'm not afraid of you Mr. Lupin. I've faced foes far scarier than you in the past. "

Seeing his thundering expression, she just couldn't resist adding something more

"Oh? My metaphor was not to your liking? Pity, I am quite fond of it to be honest. Would you rather prefer that I compare your "condition" with the female menstrual cycle with remarks about _that_ time of the month?"

She finished somewhat impishly, having a hard to not giggle out loud.

After hearing this one, Remus couldn't help but palm his face in embarrassment or annoyance or maybe a mix of both and groan out loud. James and Sirius had teased him endlessly with those kinds of remarks at school ever since they had entered puberty and discovered exactly why girls were overemotional a few days a month! He was a Male lycanthrope for Merlin's sake, not a woman on her period! The fact that the woman in front of him was no longer attempting to hide her snickers at his reaction wasn't improving his mood any!

Seeing his gimlet eye, Carmen let out a few more giggles and snickers before forcefully calming herself. Once she had recomposed herself, she said

"Let's get to the crux of the matter then, the reason of our meeting. A few years ago, I've acquired the guardianship of a special little boy of English nationality whom had been placed in the care of his maternal relatives by a manipulative old man. One who didn't possess any authority to do so but did so anyway. The little boy is a Wizard and a very iconic one at that. I won't bore you with all the details but when I found out that his living conditions were less than ideal, I took upon me to become his legal guardian."

Pausing in her explanation when she saw that Remus was starting to add two and two together and at his startled expression and whispered

"No, not my little cub…"

Carmen, reining her emotions, continued

"I'm sorry to tell you that you have guessed right. Harry Potter was left in the care of his magic-hating maternal aunt and her family. Basically, he was treated like a live-in servant. His only outlet was his schooling where he was told to excel. Naturally I took him away from there and did my very best to heal the psychological damage done to the poor child. Harry is now a happy young boy and his previous sufferings are now just a few bad memories. Now, the reason of your presence here is twofold. The child is in needs of a good male role model and who would be better than one of his father's best friends? Thus I made all the arrangements to have you brought here."

Remus' head was spinning. His cub! The child of one of his best friends in the entire world and the woman who became like a sister to him had been mistreated! The happy go lucky babe who was always clamouring to be held by him when he was around, the one who made Moony feel docile like a pet dog, had been abused by his own family! Hell, even a Death Eater would have been a better guardian than Petunia and her husband if it was true! And Carmen had no reason to lie to him on this subject! Not after everything she did to get hold of him.

The Death Eater would just have killed the child and be done with it, not make him suffer for years! Then his brown eyes suddenly turned a supernatural yellow and a bestial snarl escaped from his far too human throat. For the first time in years, both Remus and Moony now had a common goal. Protect their cub against anything that could threaten him.

Carmen was satisfied that Remus was now on board. But now, it was time to talk about Sirius. Clearing her throat to get the werewolf's attention once more, she picked the conversation back up where she had left it

"Mr. Lupin, please calm down. Harry is safe and sound with me. His past abuses are now only a bad memory. He is happy now. While the Dursley family escaped physical retribution, my contacts can do and have already done so much more. Vernon was recently demoted and put on probation at his job. Petunia's reputation in her neighbourhood is shot to hell and I have a few shady friends owning me a few favours whom are really looking forward for the chance to tarnish their name further in every mundane Banks.

Dumbledore is currently fielding an inquiry from Gringotts International and the Ministry of Magic's Magical Children Welfare Department, thus way too busy right now to look for his missing pawn. And he has no power here. The ICW's jurisdiction extends only to Europe. "

Hearing this pleased Remus immensely, but Moony was still raring to go give the Dursleys a piece of his mind for daring to hurt his cub. But the Wolf was willing to let the Man deal with the humans' problems. Thus after a few minutes, Lupin was calm once more.

The rest of the conversation felt very surreal for Remus. His perception of the world tilted quite a few times also. The won cruise was just a bait to make him leave England without arousing the suspicion of people who shouldn't be trusted with Harry's whereabouts and come into the Caribbean and the basic idea of abducting him and paying his abductors to bring the ex-Marauder to them was Harry's. *snort* Nine years old and already surpassing his father in the pranking department. All that was missing was his Animagus form and a "nom de guerre" proper to the boy. He then made the mistake to mention this out loud, prompting Carmen to threaten him.

"I'm warning you right now Mr. Lupin. I _**will**_ have your balls on a silver platter and make you sing soprano for the rest of your life if I found out that you gave my son the tools to becomes an Animagus before his Magical core is stabilized! Mark my words!"

It was needless to say that Remus was quite fond of his genitalia, thus wouldn't even dare to think about defying Carmen's decree. Of course, he came to this decision soon after a loud gulp of fear and crossing his legs to protect his family jewels. Women could be quite scary when put in the right mood.

The next load of information hit him like a Lorry though. It was why he missed Carmen's slip about Harry being her son. Sirius was innocent? Peter had been the Secret Keeper. Sirius had been thrown into Azkaban without a trial. Peter had betrayed them all by cowardice. Carmen had had Sirius extracted out of Azkaban by professional mercenaries a while ago. Sirius was being brought here as they were speaking by muggle way. They were now in Haiti, on Turtle Island or Tortuga as it was known during the Piracy Era more precisely.

Dumbledore was a manipulative old man who had lost the sight of the individual for the sake of a group and had had plans concerning Harry. It was the very same plans that Carmen had shattered almost beyond repair by rescuing and taking Harry away from his Relatives' "care". Needless to say, after this revealing conversation, Remus was no longer Dumbledore's man and was quite eager to be part of Harry's life. But the piece of resistance so to speak, was when Carmen Sandiego's features blurred and became those of another woman, just as (in) famous as the one before!

"Lily?!"

It was too much shock for poor Remus, since she only had to say

"Boo!"

With a Marauder like grin on her face, before Remus' eyes rolled back and lost conscience, falling to the ground. Moony of the Marauders had just been outpranked! Mischief Managed!


	3. Chapter 2

**Where in the world is Harry Potter?**

 **Chapter 2**

 **Author's Notes:** _Well, after a long break editing most of my works and problems galore with Microsoft Word which seemingly decided out of the blue it didn't want to work properly anymore, I decided to look up for alternatives ways of writing. This is going to be the very first chapter I'm going to be fully writing on a Google document. I usually only copy-pasted existing chapters who gave my regular word processor heart burns. It doesn't help that my PC is aging and being left in the dust, what with being still on Windows XP Family Edition. Oh well, enough griping. Time to get cracking! I left this story alone too long, I almost lost all of my inspiration for it. We will continue where the last chapter left us._

 _Sirius has been broken out from Azkaban, Remus was outpranked and Harry is living the life he should have lived. Also take note that I will not write the various accents of the characters. So If you wish to read how Hagrid speak for example, you'll have to go elsewhere. I would like to give a quick Kudos to_ ** _Bobmin356_** _to thank them for the idea of a Caribbean native old wizard/sailor who is somewhat of a mentor to Harry. It was their idea first, I'm just borrowing it. Ah a quick word to people who like to have the most pertinent information in the stories, I've been unable to find a reliable website about the Tides in the Caribbean, so excuse in advance my use of improvisation._

 _Now let's go get a look at those stats shall we? We have_ ** _36_** _Reviews,_ ** _258_** _Followers,_ ** _241_** _Favourites,_ ** _15_** _C2 Communities and last but not least, we also have_ ** _6 289_** _Views. Thank you everyone for your support. Now let's get this show on the road!_

 **Azkaban Maximum Security Prison, Azkaban Island, North Sea, from July 10 to mid-August 1988.**

Sirius Black was feeling rather miserable today. It wasn't exactly a new situation though, he had been feeling like that ever since his incarceration without a trial back in November 1981. While many prisoners went mad in Azkaban due to long time exposure to the Prison Guards, the Dementors, Sirius was relatively better off than many others. While Dementors could feed from happy thoughts leaving the victim with only his bad memories, Sirius had two things going for him. He was innocent and he believed it with all of his being. It wasn't a happy thought, so the Dementors couldn't take it from him. He was also an Animagus. As an animal, his emotions were muted for lack of a better term, thus it took the edge of the Dementors' aura off. And the demonic guards couldn't distinguish them. It was now evening and the guard had just came in to give him his ration of gruel.

It was slop, that's what it was, but it was all what they were given here to eat in Azkaban Ressort for malcontent Wizards and Witches. They were lucky to have warm soup with some meat chunks and some Invigoration Draught during the winter months. Then something outside of the moans and shrieks of the other inmates was heard. It was the sound of explosions. Then it was the Dementors that were shrieking since _something_ just set a few on fire. Now as funny as it sounds, Sirius could really have done without seeing a few of the buggers naked, rushing back toward his cell block.

Yeah, that was going to be his new Boggart if he ever managed to escape from this rock alive to meet one. After the not so well received strip-tease,(Seriously, it would have been better to see his cousin Bella naked, at least she was a woman, even if they were blood related…) the Marauder suddenly heard a man barking orders in a military style and also the sound of loud boots on the stone floors.

Of course, now that the more alert of his fellow inmates realized that there were intruders in Azkaban, they all came alive, screeching, screaming, hooting, basically doing everything to make some noise. He was the exception to the rule. It was the reason as to why he was the first to recognize a military unit of about twelve men armed to the teeth with muggle weapons. Once the soldiers divided themselves adequately to guard the only access in and out of the cell block his cell was located in and that others soldiers had the occupants of the other cells held at gunpoint, the apparent leader who was wearing a silver coloured balaclava contrary to the standard black of everybody else stepped forward.

He then said with a rather charismatic but strong authoritative tone of voice:

"We are here for Sirius Black only. Sirius Black, please stand up and step forward, now! You've just been accorded a remission of sentence of sorts. "

The Leader of the Mercenaries finished with clear amusement in his tone.

While Sirius had always fantasized of getting out of this hellhole, he wasn't certain if he should follow that Muggle mercenary's order. For yes, he now knew that the whole platoon were mercenaries. The men were dressed in military fatigues and were equipped with what seemed at first look to be standardized firearms, but if they had been a legit Military unit, they would have passed by the proper legal channels first, not assaulting the Wizarding prison when there was no Human guards present. In the end, the temptation of getting out of here was stronger than his mistrust about Mercenaries in general and the methods that these Muggles had likely used to bypass the Wards around the Fortress. So the emaciated man got up from his bunk and stepped forward before saying with a voice that showed signs of long disuse

"I am Sirius Black."

What happened next was literally a blur. The leader gave a non verbal order then two Mercs exploded into action. They then put some sort of off-white clay (C4) on the lock of his cell and once Sirius was a safe distance away, the locking mechanism was blown apart in a controlled explosion. Once his cell door was blasted open, Sirius was seized by two other Mercs by the armpits and brought before the Leader. Just before he was given a compress of chloroform and some sort of black hood to be put on his head he was told

"Well, Mr. Black, you seem to have either very good friends in high places or maybe you have pissed the wrong people to the point that they were willing to pay the big price to bust you out of this hell hole just to have your hide. I wish you a good and safe trip Mr. Black! And also, good luck! Because for where you are going, you're going to need it..."

Then all was dark. Sirius woke up with a start an undetermined time later with a minor but persistent headache in an examination room situated in what he would later learn was the illegal Practice of a back alley Healer. He was wearing new clothes, he was close shaved, hell he even had gotten a haircut! It was a military buzz cut, true, but it was better than nothing. The healer was a rather pretty lady that looked to be in her mid forties. Blue-green eyes, straw blonde hair with a few streaks of grey tied in a french braid falling to her shoulder blades. Before he could even open his mouth, he was apostrophized quickly

"I swear those English! Azkaban Prison should have been condemned centuries ago! We are no longer in the 17th or 18th century, but in the 20th! Would it have killed them to buy a prison building from the No-Majs or else build one themselves and then Ward it to hell and back? But no! "Oh! Let's put all our prisoners, no matter the gravity of the offence, in an ancient fortress guarded by soul sucking monsters on a forsaken rock somewhere in the middle of the North Sea!" Yeah, that's one hell of a good idea! Not!

It's a Goddamn miracle that you're still so healthy after years in that God forsaken place! Now, take your potions Dear, so you can be on your way. Quickly now, you still have a long way to go. Don't you worry about the money, I've already been paid in advance. Now, drink before I force fed you those potions!"

Sirius learned two things at this stopover on his journey to possible freedom. This Healer was an American Witch, what with her accent and the term "No-Majs" and also the wand that she was now brandishing under his nose. Needless to say, Sirius did drink his potions even if they tasted only marginally better than his prison meals. Once he was done with the Healer, he was quickly shooed in another room near the consultation room he had been in. Inside that new room, he found a Lazyboy armchair, a decent sized TV, a remote for said TV on a tray table near the armchair and beside the remote was something he never thought he'd ever see again!

"Sweet Merlin's balls! That's a Pizza! I never thought I'd see one ever again!"

And to top it off, there was even an unopened can of fizzy drink! It was a can of Pepsi! His favourite brand! Sirius was even closer to Heaven than he was before when he found a Sports channel after surfing around a bit. He was not all that much knowledgeable about Baseball, but he wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth! It was a very Muggle activity, but it was one James and he had fallen in love with when Lily had showed them the bright sides of her society of origin. Unfortunately, the next Lord Black should really have been leerier of the set up and the apparent kindnesses. For after eating two slices of the pizza and also after downing in one go about half of the Pepsi can, he found himself fighting a losing battle to stay awake. Soon, he was swept in Morpheus' Realm.

After an indeterminable time, he woke up sitting on a chair in a waiting area inside a Veterinary Clinic off all places. When Sirius regained consciousness and his full motor skills, he was quickly ushered inside the closest exam room by a rather harried looking female technician before he could make a scene or ask for clarifications. Once inside, Padfoot of the Marauders came face to face with a former classmate. A Muggleborn Ravenclaw named Henry Collins if his now recovering memory was not currently playing games with him. Now talk about an awkward reunion... As to why it was awkward? Well, our dear Doctor Collins will be quite happy to explain everything in a few seconds.

Once Doc Collins had warded the door and the windows with silencing and anti-spy charms with quick and stealthy movements from his wand, he said

"Well well well, just look who the cat dragged in! If it's not Sirius Black in the flesh! You know, I should really pay you back for that itching powder prank in my school robes from back in Seventh year. Because of your "brilliant prank idea", note the sarcasm here, I was forced to miss my Practical NEWT DADA exam. And thus I was unable to obtain the necessary grades to apply for an Auror position. All this because I've fooled around with a girl you had a crush on that year and she never gave you the time of the day. Marlene Mckinnon was it?

But on the other hand, that failure led me to eventually work in this clinic as a recognized Vet, so not everything was lost. To be honest, I think that after eight years locked away in Hell on Earth you've been punished enough. I guess we're pretty much even by now. The past is the past after all so let's get back on track. Now, do you have an idea as to why you're my _patient_?"

The Vet was of average height for a man of his age, rather thin, light brown hair cut short in a brush cut, rather round features, hazel coloured eyes and a three days beard on his cheeks. There was some bags under his eyes and worry lines on his forehead. The life of a Veterinarian was stressful, true but also quite fulfilling when you loved working with animals. That kind of life was bound to leave physical traces, even on a magical.

Realizing that he was asked a question, Sirius answered

"I'll be frank with you, Collins. I have absolutely no bloody clue! Only a short time ago I was languishing in Azkaban for a crime I didn't commit. Then I got busted out of that hellhole by a band of Muggle Mercs of all people! One of them put something on a compress and pressed it to my face to make me fall unconscious then I woke up I don't know after how many hours in a Healer's private clinic. After a shock treatment with more potions than I've ever swallowed in my life, I'm given food that in hindsight I should really have suspected of being drugged and after another dark period of unconsciousness, I awoke here in your waiting room. So any clues you could give me would be real nice, thanks!"

He finished somewhat crossly.

Henry took the vitriol expelled by the ex-convict unflinchingly. He had gotten far worse from belligerent owners of some of the animals he had treated along his years of working as a Vet. Some people weren't that nice and not afraid to show it when forced to acknowledge their own failings in training their pets. Once Sirius was calmed down, he told him

"Hey relax. Don't get your knickers in a twist. I'll tell you what I can. I think I've deduced more than what I've been told but I don't want to risk the plan that was put in place or getting the attention of the authorities. Somebody truly wanted you out of Azkaban. A certain someone with enough cash to hire a top notch Merc unit to do the job for 've been shipped around the country by untraceable portkeys to various locations to get you as healthy as possible in a short lapse of time. I don't know how many days passed since you've been busted from that hellhole in the North Sea, but it's been long enough to put the entire DMLE on alert if my guess is correct.

It's not like I go take a stroll down Diagon Alley every other day since I work and live in the Muggle World; so I'm not the one with the more accurate info of what's currently going on in the magical communities. From what I know, you'll be smuggled out of the country pretty soon if everything is going to plan. And before you ask, I don't know where you are going and I didn't want to know either. It doesn't concern me. I've been paid most handsomely for this little jig and it's all I less I know, the less chances you have of getting recaptured if something goes wrong."

He paused, went to take a few mouthfuls of his water bottle before he continued informing the fugitive

"By now, you'll likely be wanted by both the magical and muggle authorities given how high profile your particular case is. So you're going to be smuggled out of the country in your Animagus form, hence the reason of your presence in my clinic. In the Muggle world, there's a ton of paperwork needed for permitting an animal to cross international borders. Therefore, you will need to be immunized against many diseases so I can adequately fill those required forms. "

Doctor Collins stopped talking, only to smile with more or less restrained glee in seeing Sirius finally connecting the dots. Thus began " ** _The Humiliation_** ", that's how the event would be categorized in the Animagus' mind in the near future. Karma was indeed a Bitch. And she was currently suffering from PMS. As Padfoot, he was prodded, examined, dewormed, given his shots and also vigorously treated against fleas. Doctor Collins did everything with an admirable show of professionalism but you could see in his eyes that he felt quite amused and vindicated if you knew what to look for. Talk about schadenfreude!

After all, he had gotten one over the infamous Sirius Black, prankster and Marauder extraordinaire. But the ultimate revenge prank Doctor Henry Collins pulled on his former classmate was explaining to him exactly **_how_** he would travel out of Britain to his unknown destination once he was allowed to take back his human form once all the tests and exams were done.

"You will have to stay in your dog form during the entire trip. And to be sure that you will not compromise the plan and destroy all the hard work it took to break you out, you'll be wearing a very _special_ dog collar. It has been enchanted to suppress your magic in a similar way of the magic dampening manacles used by MLE agents. With that specific collar, you'll stay a dog until someone remove it from your neck. You won't be able to remove it yourself whatever you try. It's also going to be an anchor for glamours spells to make you look like healthy since no chartered flights would take you along seeing how emaciated you are."

Doctor Henry Collins then stopped talking to wait for Sirius' reaction. He was not disappointed, it was quick and epically amusing. Sirius bonelessly fell on his knees before throwing his arms to the sky and yelling an overly dramatic

 **"NOOOOOOOOOOO!"**

Before starting to sob in earnest like a young capricious child who was denied sweets before a meal. What was worse for Sirius but quite funny for Henry, was that the latter managed to take a few photographs of Sirius' breakdown as future blackmail material.

A few hours later, Padfoot was driven to Heathrow all the while sulking inside a Vari Kennel transport cage. It would take a while, but his plane ticket had been bought in advance and once customs were cleared and after one last walk outside so he could relieve himself before the long hours of flight, he was boarded in the hold. His cage was expertly restrained so as to not be shot from one side of the plan to the other during take-off and the Animagus was feeling quite humiliated, whoever broke him out of Azkaban had planned for everything.

If the Magical authorities had suspected anything, the Airport would have been crawling with Aurors by now. It took another hour, but soon the plane was taxied on a runway. The pilot and co-pilots finished their initial checks and after getting the green light from the Control Tower, they put the gasses and soon were in the air.

The British Magical Enclaves would move heaven and earth trying to find Sirius Black inside their borders but would never find him. By the time someone had the good idea of checking the Muggle ways of international travel, the Dog Animagus would already be inside the borders of a country without an extradition treaty with the United Kingdom. It also didn't help the local Magical Law Enforcement that the current top brass politicians were of the opinion that Pureblood Britain had no need of allies.

 **Tia Dalma's Unplottable Island, Somewhere on the Caribbean Sea, from July 31 to August 2 1988.**

Lily had been highly skeptical at first, but it was very possible that that particular profession was still around. While the world had moved on with the times, certain things simply did not change. Magic in all forms had been around for millennia, so who was she to doubt the existence of a bonafide Voodoo priestess? While the ICW had done everything in it's power to try to eradicate the practice after declaring it illegal under the death penalty in Europe and also pressuring other nations into doing the same, it was far too much ingrained into many Caribbean and African cultures to be completely eradicated even if various countries had banned it also for one reason or another. It also didn't help that the Caribbean had no unified Ministry of Magic, each country had their own version of a magical government.

Lily's presence here was due to the Goblins' inability to deal with her beloved Harry's Curse Scar. They simply had no **_safe_** means of extracting a foreign piece of soul from a living being without killing or at least permanently crippling the host. Since she obviously refused to let her son die or become a cripple, Lily had asked if they could refer her to somebody else who could help.

She then had been told about a powerful Soothsayer with Voodoo powers, able and generally willing to help if the price was right. While the priestess was somewhat recluse, understandable what with the legal ambiguity of her skill set, she often enough had dealings with the Goblins. For a sizable fee, The Goblin Nation were willing to sell her the information needed on how to make a proper visit on her unplottable island without incurring a plethora of very nasty curses. Lily was no longer afraid to go on the wrong side of the Law and bend her morals to get what she wanted, even less if it could help her son, so she paid the asked fee without complaint.

If she had been afraid of getting her hands dirty and having dealings on the wrong side of the Law, she would have been a truly poor Carmen Sandiego. She was wondering if the British Ministry of Magic were tearing their hair out in frustration or fear by now? Sirius was now en route to Haiti and after paying the second half of the agreed payment to the Mercenaries whom broke him out, the leader had confirmed having left her Business Card in the Warden's office. Back to her destination, the boat with a outboard motor she had charmed touched the beach and once she had tied the pneumatic boat to a nearby tree since this side of the island didn't have a quay, she helped Harry to get on dry land.

Once their little boat was secure and the outboard motor was raised up to avoid possible breaks, Lily took her shivering boy in her arms and waited. They were dressed warmly since it was now nighttime but even then he was quite tired. Her baby boy had taken a real interest into sailing, so in between regular school (Education was very important and her sweetheart was encouraged to his very best.) and his magic lessons at home, he was learning everything about the subjects of sailing, navigating and how to build and take care of a small sailboat under the tutelage of an old sailor down at the wharf. It was needless to say that the subjects were quite exhaustive. There was so much to learn!

Lucas Jefferson Smith was a good man but a real slave driver. He didn't tolerate any slacking off. When you were working for him, you were to give your 110% or you'll be dismissed. Not only was he teaching her son, he was also somewhat of a living legend in these parts. He was the Captain of a 19th century Brigantine still maintained in perfect condition that he had enchanted to be sailed without the help of a crew. He was one of the reasons behind why there was so many Ghost ship stories in the local folklore.

Tia Dalma's Island could only be accessed at high tide during the night and by non magical means. Each centimetre square of the island had somehow been Warded against any magical means of transport that wasn't approved in advance by the Mistress of the Island. Of course, to make things even more difficult, she didn't accept night time consultations and you couldn't just barge on her. No, you had to wait and let her come to you. If the level of her security setup was enough to make the Goblins nervous, you had better be extra cautious. Since the island was unplottable, they also couldn't get the direct coordinates for a portkey.

But since Tia Dalma only wished to be secure and not stop every attempts to obtain a consultation with her, she purposely left a few loopholes in her protections. A specifically programmed portkey could drop the visitors a few nautical miles off the island and an amulet loaned to Gringotts, enchanted with a very specific tracking charm, would guide the supplicants more or less safely to destination. It was also highly recommended to look up the meteorological reports from the Coast guards before setting out. Sane people wouldn't want to adventure on the sea during a storm after all.

If she had been alone, Lily would gladly have bet on the weaved-in protections of her work uniform and her talents as a Witch to brave the forest on the island, but with Harry depending on her? No. She wouldn't risk it. She would just have to be patient. They would camp further away from the water just in case, to not have a nasty surprise. Lily would have liked to instruct Harry on how to build a fire pit before starting a fire safely but he was literally dead on his feet. It was way passed his bedtime after all. So she said to her boy with a soothing voice

"Take out your sleeping bag and go to sleep, Honey. You're literally dead on your feet. Find yourself a place near the fire so you won't get cold. Not too near though. We don't want you to get burned after all."

She finished with some humour in her voice.

Harry accepted the instruction given by his mother with a tired tone

"Yes, Mum..."

It took him a few minutes to get comfy enough and he was soon out like a light after a

"Good night, Mum. I love you."

"Good night, sweetheart. I love you too."

Lily snorted a little in amusement since her baby had forgotten to remove his glasses before falling asleep. When he would be older she would see if she could get his eyes fixed. Maybe with that new laser operation she had heard about? Because let's face it, sailing in the traditional way with glasses wouldn't cut if for long and he was a bit young yet to get contact lenses. Add to the fact that Lucas wasn't one to permit shortcuts with magic... Shuffling near her boy, she took them from his face gently before storing them in their case and putting said case inside the cooler. At least, this way there were safe and they would lose them. After posing a loving kiss on his forehead, Lily went back to her previous spot.

There was no need to feed the fire since she had conjured bluebell flames. It was far more secure than a regular camp fire. It was still good to lose themselves in their thoughts though.

Sometimes when she was looking at her son, his father's face would replace his temporarily. While she was very glad to still be alive and have her child back in her life, Lily truly missed James. Her coma had not really helped her grieve her husband's death. There was many people and things Lily felt like cursing to a inch of their lives or all the way to the grave. The meddlesome old man Dumbledore who couldn't keep his nose off the affairs of others, that fraud of a Divination Professor who spewed that bullshit called a Prophecy and last but not least that bastard Voldemort. Each of them had a part of responsibility for breaking apart her family. But in time, she would make them pay. Revenge was a dish best served cold after all. But way before her revenge, she would ensure her son grow up as a good man.

Lily mulled her thoughts while watching the fire for a while longer before also deciding to go to sleep . She took her own sleeping bag from the pneumatic boat and after settling everything as needed to be comfortable, she was quick to join her son into Morpheus' Realm. There was no need to erect Wards since this Island couldn't be accessed willy nilly. The following morning, it was Harry who woke up first.

He looked blankly at the scenery, well as much as he could since without his glasses he was rather nearsighted. They were on a beach with golden sand, the waves of the sea were crashing on the shore gently. There was a deep looking forest further inland, which his mother was suspecting of hosting Tia Dalma's residence. All in all it seemed to be normal, but there weren't a single animal sounds around. And to be frank, it was creeping the boy out big time now that his mind was sufficiently awake to notice it.

There was a clear feeling of power in the air that Harry could feel. It was not exactly malevolent per see but not quite benevolent either. The young boy couldn't really find the right words to describe the feeling. After waking up his mother and retrieving his glasses they ate a frugal breakfast, they stashed their sleeping gear back into the boat once done and then they waited patiently for the mistress of the island to come retrieve them. His mother had explained to him what she had been told by the Goblins (Except things that was related to his possible demise if he was subjected to their rituals, the child had been told that they simply couldn't help but knew somebody who could.) and also about how the Priestess was operating. Personally Harry thought that she was paranoiac, but he was still somewhat naive at his age.

He was also wondering how Uncle Remus was faring. Was he alright back home all alone? Was he still disappointed of having being outpranked by his mum? They didn't had much time to bond yet. While Moony was seemingly quite adept with anything coming from the Muggle world (Harry had seen him use the microwave oven without any trouble the other day.), the man didn't speak a single word of Haitian Creole. English was not a language vastly known or practised in Haiti. French would be his best bet since Creole sounded very much like a rather weird variant of it.

Harry was brought out of his musings when a dark skinned woman came out of the woods at a calm pace. Her long hair was black and seemed to have either natural braids or have been combed that way, he wasn't quite sure. She was also a bit too far away to see her eyes. She was wearing a very old fashioned dress in various touches of brown and was even wearing a rather weird shawl across her shoulders, probably due to the freshness of the morning. Harry leaned on his side to get his mother's attention by tugging on the sleeve of her red trench coat. While he was no longer the withdrawn boy he was a few years ago, the Priestess' presence was making him feel rather skittish for some weird reason. Once he had gotten his mother's attention, he was quick to point to her the arrival of the mistress of the place.

The Sea Goddess Calypso, or as she was still known among the mortals, Tia Dalma, was rather intrigued by the new supplicants who had arrived on her Island by boat last night. Most if not all of those seeking an audience with her these days were far more skittish and troubled by the protections around her Domain and the fact that there seemed to not have any animals living around. But not those two. They had set up a camp a bit further on the beach, protected from the waves and waited patiently for her appearance. To be frank, it was refreshing to not have to deal with people half out of their minds and stammering with fear. Even though it was always amusing gouging those kind of people, it did kind of get old after a while.

After flaring her presence a little while longer, Tia Dalma finally cranked down her Divinity since the child seemed to be particularly sensible to her energy. A fond smile passed on her lips. The kid would go far if he was already able to tell that she was not a regular Magic user. The woman's aura and the infamous red trench coat made her nearly laughed out loud. She had taken the mantle of The Best Thief in the World! Calypso had, of course, heard of the original Carmen's exploits, but she never had the distinct pleasure to meet or deal with her and her successors. Hmm, this could work in her favour. She was in need of somebody who could supply her with the right types of medicinal herbs and ingredients for her activities of dubious legality.

Before long, the Soothsayer had invited both mother and son back to her cabin. What was even stranger than the lack of animal sounds all around, was the fact that the vegetation of her island was identical to the one growing on the Pacific coast of North America instead of being the one from the Caribbean! Her cabin was nested high in the trees between four giant sequoias for God's sake! Of course she had a makeshift elevator to help travelling from her porch to the ground, otherwise it would have took a long while before reaching the house. After an exchange of pleasantries, Tia Dalma then decided that it was time to get to the heart of the matter.

"Well met. As you both have surely guessed by now, I am Tia Dalma. I am a Soothsayer and also a Voodoo priestess. But before we get into what exactly brings the both of you to my humble home, you should know that for the right price, I will do almost everything in my power to give satisfaction to my customers. But there is some ground rules that you must be made aware of before everything else. Firstly, I **_do not_** dabble in Love potions and/or the Sex trade, so don't bother asking me anything about those. Secondly, Time Travel is **_completely_** off limits, so don't ask either.

Thirdly, Death curses and Resurrections are possible with a few rare exceptions, but both are **_very_** costly. So if you came to see me for those, you should be prepared to pay the big price. Fourthly, Apotheosis, meaning turning you into a Deity in layman terms, is totally **_impossible_**. Fifthly, never and I repeat myself, **_never_** try to renege on your end of a deal that we have struck. That is a one way trip to deadly consequences. Other than that, I tend to make a decision to help or not on a case by case basis."

Lily and Harry had no difficulty into dealing with Tia Dalma's limitations/rules except one. She could bring back the Dead to life!? How was it possible?! Harry was feeling a bit too overwhelmed to ask questions and the strange woman's presence was making him feel very nervous for some reason. He didn't know why, she had been quite nice to him ever since they first met. Lily was not that subdued though. She literally leapt with her questions

"Resurrection?! How is that possible?! No magic known to man and other magical creatures had ever been able to truly bring back the dead to life! Can you really bring back the deceased to the World of the Living? A **_true_** Resurrection? As is in a living and breathing body made of flesh and blood once more, and not as a Zombie or an Inferius? "

Tia Dalma was rather amused by the plethora of questions and answered frankly with a smile on her lips

"The answer is "yes" to all of those questions. But it is not always as simple as it sounds like. Hence why I charge my customers through the nose for this particular service. My time and my efforts must be remunerated after all. And before you start trying to haggle a price for that particular service, a Resurrection and/or a Death curse won't be bought by mundane money, gold, silver or bronze. Oh no. For those, I am afraid you will have to offer me something much more precious as payment. But for now, let's get back to the true matter at hand. Why have you sought me out in the first place? "

After an indeterminable lapse of time, the redhead managed to regain her calm and composure. Then she explained after hesitating a brief moment

" My son survived the Killing Curse cast by an admittedly very powerful Dark Wizard who called himself "Lord Voldemort" when he was fifteen months old. Harry's survival was thanks to experimental rituals set up way beforehand as fail safes, some of them coming from ancient grimoires and others of my creation, a runic shield engraved around his cot of my invention and a sacrificial ritual powered by the magic and life forces of his paternal grandparents.

A piece of the Dark idiot's soul somehow managed to attach itself to my child's scar and the Goblins couldn't do more to help him than sending us your way. What I need from you is a way of getting that soul piece out of my son in a manner that won't hurt him any more than necessary, won't leave him permanently crippled or/and even worse, dead."

After that, Lily let out a heavy sigh and sought comfort by holding Harry in her arms. Harry didn't really mind to be honest. At first it was weird, but he had grown to like it. The boy had the feeling that even as a teen or an adult, he would always crave his mother's hugs.

Tia Dalma had grown silent after hearing Lily's request. While Voldemort's Darkness had essentially been more or less confined to the British Isles, it had been starting to extend all over Europe until his unexpected defeat back in '81 and soon after if he had not been stopped, it would have likely been all over the world. While she could have escaped his Campaign by returning to the sea if it had came this far, his continued existence would be very bad for the world. Worse even than Lord Cutler Beckett of the East India Trading Company who tried to destroy Piracy centuries ago.

Back to the present, humming to herself, she then approached the young boy. With the permission of his mother, she moved his fringe to observe the still red and inflamed lightning bolt scar on the right side of his forehead. Then she noticed that the lightning bolt was in fact the _Sowilo_ Rune if only misshaped somewhat. It was another hint that this child was destined to do great things.

"You my boy, have a touch...of Destiny."

The Soothsayer let out a frustrated click of the tongue all the while using all her magical senses to analyze Harry's rune scar. It didn't made any sense to her that it somehow housed a soul fragment of all things. With how many powerful magical protections there was on the child, how come a sliver of soul managed to bypass all of them to graft itself on him? A soul, no matter how tainted with evil, didn't shatter that easily even under duress. Unless...No. No, he didn't! If that Dark Wizard truly did what she was currently thinking he did, then the situation could be far worse than what she first thought. That… that abominable Monster!

He had mutilated his eternal soul **_willingly_** in a futile attempt to cheat Death! As if it would do anything more than delay the inevitable! And since the Heathen wasn't currently in her Domain, the Seas that is, she couldn't simply send the _Flying Dutchman_ and it's Captain to collect him for her. But then she could always bargain to get what she wanted… She would have to take time and make a plan. There was no need to rush. She would take all the necessary time to make as perfect as a plan could be.

She then said out loud with certainty in her voice

"I can get the Soul Shard out with little to no problem. Unfortunately it's going to really hurt since it's been embedded in him for years. But rest assure that young Harry shouldn't have any long term sequels. All the various protections weaved around the child actually helped into keeping the parasite at bay. It's not permanently embedded into his psyche and soul yet. It is a good thing you both came to me when Harry is still young. The older your son gets, the harder it would have been to extract the shard safely. There is something else you should know though. A soul don't shatter that easily.

It mean that the monster who attacked your son had made preparations beforehand to split voluntary his soul once more in effort to cheat Death. Doing such a thing is a truly abominable act. I won't go into details since it's really not something children should hear. The soul of a person should be sacrosanct. But many men in centuries past did monstrous things in search of immortality. Like I said, it's truly an abominable act. Right at this moment, I can't do much to get rid of the Heathen, but I intend to do something to correct that very soon. Someone who had dared to go this far simply **_MUST_** be destroyed. But before everything else, there is still the matter of payment to discuss. You just can't obtain something for nothing after all."

She finished with a somewhat naughty smile on her lips.

Tia Dalma kept her silence so what she just had revealed could sink into her customers. It was more for Lily's benefits than Harry's, since the poor boy was completely surpassed by the current topic of the conversation. Not that she could truly blame him that is, he was still a child. To make it up to him since she always had a soft spot for children, the goddess in human form went to look for a snack for him in her pantry. She came back a minute later with a homemade lollipop made of honey. After receiving his mother's approval, since you weren't suppose to accept candies from strangers, Harry thanked the priestess and didn't waste any time into unwrapping the candy and eating it. It was quite good!

Now that Harry was occupied, the women could haggle in peace the just price for Tia Dalma's work, but before they could agree which each other, Lily had assimilated the information that the Goddess of the Seas had offered then asked

"When you said that the Dark idiot had somehow managed to split his soul, it must mean that he must still be alive in a certain fashion correct? He did not perish the night his curse rebounded on him after all. Damned it all! I had hoped that my family would be rid of that monster's shadow forever! He is not known to let people he marked for death escape him for long. Fuck! As if I don't have enough on my plate as it is in keeping the senile old goat Dumbledore's agents off our trail all the while raising my son. Now I'll also have to watch behind our backs for fucking Death Eaters and the loony they call "Master"! Great, just...fucking...great!"

Lily then shook her head, letting her long red hair fly around a bit before she said

"No, one thing at the time. This time I want the Soul Shard inside my boy's scar dealt with. For the rest, I'll take care of it in due course. If I have to do some permanent damage to those inbred morons for them to finally get a clue, then so be it."

In the end, after some more haggling, the price was agreed by both parties. In exchange for cleansing the abomination and making sure that Harry could never be possessed ever again, Lily in her guise of Carmen Sandiego would owe Tia Dalma three heists of her choice, free of charge. The Soothsayer would get back to her with the details later as to what she wish for the Thief to acquire for her. Once that part was over, they would see about negotiating another deal for future cooperation another time. Once the current deal was struck with a magically enhanced handshake (With a suspicious boom of thunder sound effect in a cloudless sky in the background...), the Goddess in human disguise got to work to honour her part of the bargain. Never should it be said that Calypso didn't kept her word once given!

she had the child lay down on her cot-like bed and with a snap of her fingers, she conjured restrains that went to work immediately. Calypso also gave Harry something to bite through to make sure to not injure his tongue during the inevitable trashing that the exorcism would cause. Once everything was in place, the Goddess in human form said out loud

"Like I said, it's going to hurt. I truly can't tell you how much, as a Soul Shard inside a living person is almost unheard of. Sadly, young Harry needs to be aware and without anything to dull the pain during the process. This way we will know for sure that Voldemort' piece of soul won't be able to take over his host. But hopefully the process shouldn't take too long. Mrs Potter, can you control yourself or do I need to restrain you as well? Once the exorcism has begun, stopping before the end could have catastrophic consequences. "

Lily bit her upper lip for a moment before nodding reluctantly. She would bear the anguished cries of her son since after this, he would be free of the man who tried his damnedest to destroy her family. While her husband had given his life for his family, she would be damned if she let her son die before his time on this earth was over! In other circumstances she could have thought about her child being freed from the Prophecy, but since she was of the opinion that Divination wasn't worth her time and she didn't believe in Fate anyway. Then all her attention was brought back on her son when she heard his screaming voice due to the pain he currently was in. She had to fight her impulse to rush to his side, it was sheer torture to force herself to stay rooted in place.

With Tia Dalma and Harry, the former had chanted something in an old tongue. It could have been an extinct language or simply gibberish for all he knew, the child hadn't understand a single word of it one way or another. Then her palm started glowing, which was kind of cool, but the second she put her glowing hand on his scar, it felt like he was branded with red iron! He couldn't help but howling in pain. It was a real boon that he had something to bite on or else he would already have bitten his tongue off!

Calypso was currently frowning. The Soul Piece was resisting her. But she simply couldn't use more power to extract it faster, since it would risk the child's life. He was already in such a state of stress. It was in times like these that she cursed having to rely on her mortal powers since as a Pagan goddess of the Seas, she could only use her divine ones having regard to her own Domains. For a second she even started to think that she would not be able to honour her side of the bargain. But her fear was in vain when the Horcrux finally lost the battle. Now flowing out of Harry's scar was some sort of black liquid, viscous, smelly and frankly disgusting.

Tia Dalma then stopped applying the purification magic and vanished the black goo coming out of the scar once it was all expelled. Harry had finally stopped screaming and thrashing but had fallen unconscious due to the pain being too much for him to handle. Now that it was no longer there, he was out like a light. Quickly, the goddess in human form bound Riddle's Soul shard into a simple amulet she had on hand. She had the beginning of a plan to get rid of the Abomination, but she had to iron out some of the finer details first. Finishing her part of the deal by making sure that Harry could never be possessed again by anything, be it benign or malign (It was a trade secret), she decided to let him rest. It also seemed that Lily had used all her inner strength to not rush to her son's bedside during the procedure.

Now that it was over, she didn't lose any more time before rushing to his bedside. If she didn't knew better, Tia Dalma would have sworn that Lily had bypassed the Anti-Apparition Wards to be near her child faster. Once there, she fell to her knees without care and peppered her unconscious boy's face and hair with motherly kisses full of relief. She had been so terrified seeing him trash about and scream like that and not being able to do anything about it!

 **Potter's Home, Tortuga, Haiti to Port-Au-Prince International Airport between August 2 to August 4 1988.**

In the end, both Lily and Harry had to stay twelve more hours on Tia Dalma's Island to let Harry's magic regenerate the damages caused by the exorcism and replenish enough strength to be able to travel back to their house on Tortuga. And even then, Harry floated in and out of consciousness for two days before he was recovered enough to leave his bed. Although this was not foreseen, the removal of the shard of soul gave Harry a much better vision. Once he was lucid enough to see the difference, Harry found out that he no longer needed his glasses to see correctly. Which was a relief for the boy, he could continue his sailing lessons without any future problem now.

But while Harry was back on his feet, the Goblin Healer who oversaw his health did order the boy to take a few more days off. In these circumstances, Harry was thus available to go fetch his Dogfather with his mother at the Airport. Since Lily wanted to one up Sirius, she did take care of putting in place her Carmen Sandiego persona. Harry was under a spell of Remus' creation. No one looking for the "Boy-Who-Lived" would find him, since Harry Potter had been magically dissociated from the moniker given to him by the British magicals. And "Harry Potter" would be seen to those looking for him as a "uninteresting ordinary boy" to everyone except those keyed into the charm. Remus had crafted it in his Marauder's days so he and his friends could escape from the teachers wanting to catch them on the act.

It took a while, but Padfoot's Vari kennel was discharged from the cargo plane and after passing through the customs and seeing that all his papers were in order, he was thankfully spared from another vet check. Once everything needed to be taken care of was done, Carmen took back everyone to her house on Turtle Island via Portkey once they were in an isolated location with no chances of being seen. In the privacy of their home, Carmen retired the spelled collar on Padfoot's neck, well when he was done licking Harry until the laughing child was soaked with saliva that is.

Now able to take back a human shape, Padfoot was replaced by the getting better but still emaciated Sirius Black. Having never seen or heard of Carmen Sandiego but seeing his Godson clinging to the woman's left hip in awe of seeing him transform had the man bring out the goold Ol' Black charm that had girls throwing their knickers at him during his last years of schooling and his early years of adulthood:

"I guess that it is to you that I owe my freedom then, miss? You have my thanks. "

He finished with a would be charming grin. He then continue with other pointed questions

"Now why would a perfect stranger arrange to break me out of Azkaban and more importantly, how have you managed to obtain **_my_** Godson's custody? If you know what is good for you, you will answer my questions quickly. If not, Harry will be leaving with me. Your health at our leaving will depend on how cooperative you were."

He finished sharply.

While the charming number was a good try, Sirius failed to realize that in his current state, he wouldn't charm any knickers off a girl for a long while. The sharp demands after the charming attempt were expected, but made her feel threatened a tiny bit. But the outright threat at the end had her almost shift into Mama Bear. It was only because he didn't have access to a wand and the fact that he knew only two wand-less tricks whom were useless in a fight that prevented her for taking out her 9mm pistol and shoot him point blank in the kneecaps. Wizards were in general big babies in pain threshold, what with the extend of magical healing and numbing charms. A single bullet wound was generally all it took to make even the most stupid and inbred thug think twice before crossing her.

Thus Carmen was quick to answer with the raising of an eyebrow and a sarcastic tone of voice

"First of all, Mr. Black put your charm away, in your current state it won't work. I am not one of those vapid and easy girls you were used to seduce before your false imprisonment. As to why I know those details, it doesn't matter to the current conversation."

Her eyes then became deadly sharp and before Sirius could react, she had her knee in his stomach, while he was hunched over the said knee with the breath knocked out of him she followed by an elbow blow in between the shoulder blades. Not content with that, Carmen levitated him with magic high enough to judo flip him back to the ground. Stunned, Sirius could do nothing when Carmen put her boot on his torso. The apparition of her 9mm pistol was also a very high deterrent. In his eternal quest to annoy his parents, Sirius had researched heavily firearms and was very well in the know of their capacities.

With a growling voice and glowing eyes, Carmen spat out

"NEVER! NEVER threatened to take my son away from me! You're quite lucky that you were James' brother in all but blood and that Remus is currently on his way to set you straight or I would have killed you on the spot! I'm no longer a goody two shoes Black!"

Then to make things clear to the ex-con, Carmen let herself fade away to reveal a very pissed off Lily Evans Potter.

Sirius could only gulp loudly in fear before pleading with a very meek voice

"Huh...Mercy?"

Lily then put away her gun before taking her wand whose tip was now sparkling dangerously and answered with a terrifying smile

"Sorry, all out of mercy…"

Then Lily started hexing while Sirius squealed like a little girl, all the while Harry was wondering what was going on.


End file.
